Self-steaming blue-gas plant



Patented Jan. 29, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. RUSBY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED GAS IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. I

SELF-STEAMING BLUE-GAS PLANT.

Application filed June 2, 1916. Serial No. 101,228.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN RUsBY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Self-Steaming Blue-Gas Plant, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of the present invention is to improve the operationofmakingso-called blue or water gas by alternately passing steam and air through a burning fuel-bed in such a way that heat of the blue or water gas and of the blast gas is applied to the generation of steam ina boiler uniformly, while at the same time proper ignition of the blast gas is insured and explosions are avoided. i

The invention will be claimed at the end hereof, but will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates, partly in elevation and partly in section, one form of apparatus embodying features of the invention.

In the drawing 1 is a generator adapted to contain a bed of burning fuel as on the grate 2. The generator is provided with a valved air connection 3 and with steam connections 4: leading from the steam space 5 of thev tubular boiler 6. 7 is a combustion chamber or igniter having a checker-brick ,or re enerating lining 8 and it is provided with valved air connections, of which 9 and 10 are an example. As shown the chamber 7 is provided with a dust collector 11, the cover 12 of which may be removed in'order to clean out dust that may be carried over from the generator. 13 is a connection-to the ignition or combustion chamber 7 and it is provided with valved branches 14 and 15 communicating with the generator 1 above and below the fuel-bed. 16is a connection from the ignition orcombustion chamberto the boiler. 17 is a connection having one branch 18 to the stack valve 19 and another branch 20 to the wash-box 21. 22 is an offtake connectionfor water or so-called blue The operation of the apparatus may be described as follows:

The fuel-bed in the generator 1is blasted with air and the'blast gases pass by the connections 14 and 13 to the ignition or combustion chamber 7. Here they meet air ingas may be quite low, lower than would cause ignition upon the admixture of air but the temperature of the blast gases is raised by heat stored in the ignition or combustion chamber sufficiently to insure ignition. Obviously the temperature in the boileris below that at which ignition of the admixture of blast gases and air would take place. These considerations emphasize the importance of the presence of the ignition or. combust1on chamber. Again the fact that the admixture of blast gas and air is certainly ignited in the ignition chamber is of importance because otherwise the whole apparatus might be filled with a mixture of air and blast gases unignited because of their low temperature. which might be increased through some cause or other sufiiciently to cause an explosive ignition, but all of this is avoided because of the presence of the combustion or ignition chamber. During the run, steam is introduced by manipulating the steam valves 23 and 24 and valves 25 and 26. either upward or downward, through the fuel-bed and thus producing water or so-called blue gas. which passes through the combustion or ignition chamber 7, the boiler 6, the connections 17 and 20 through washbox 21, through off-take 22; it being understood that the stack valve 19 and all the air valves are closed. The water gas in passing through the combustion or ignition chamber 7 picks up some of the heat stored in that chamber and applies it to the generation of steam in traversing the boiler 6. so that the application of heat to the boiler is made more uniform than it would be in the absence of the combustion or ignition chamber. The blows and runs are repeated in alternation, blue or water gas is produced and the steam necessary for its production is supplied from the boiler 6 in which it is generated by the heat of the blast gas and so-called blue or water gas. As has been said the application of heat to the boiler is uniform and danger from explosions is avoided and proper ignition and combustion of the blast gas is ensured. The principal function of the combustion or ignition chamber in the combination is to convert the latent heat of the blast gases into sensible heat, which according to my invention is utilized principally for heating the boiler, though partly for maintaining the temperature of the chamber abovethe temperature ofignition of the blast gas. This heat has no effect upon the composition of the blue orwater gas, although the latter may transfer some of it, to the boiler. Hence this combustion or ignition chamber must not. be confused with the carburetter of a plant for mak ng carburetted water gas, for in that case the stored heat is intended and used for application to the oil and to the process of carburetting the water gas, and a boiler, if present, is but a mere addition and does not modify or change the carburetting step and little, if any, of the latent heat of the blast gases ever reaches the boiler. V

The carburetter of a plant for making carburetted water gas is cooled, or protected from such overheating as would deleteriously affect its checker brick by the opera: tion of fixing the oil, so that it is provided with secondary air inlets adapted to function to secure complete combustion of the blast gases before they leave. it, and if it were not for .the subsequent carburetting operatiomtherewould be such an accumulation of heat or rise in temperature that the checker brick would be destroyed. My reenerating chamber 7, is provided at its outlet end, or between it and the boiler with an air intake of which 9, is an example, so that there need not be complete combustion ofwaste gas within it, but only such combustion as is sufficient for heating it hot enough for ignition and insufficient for permitting an undue accumulation of heat such as would occur in a carbureter if it were not for the carburetting operation.

Heretofore and to the best of my knowledge and belief, blue water gas apparatus consisted of a generator only or if a boiler was added, only the sensible heat of the waste gas was utilized for heating the boiler because it was unsafe to attempt to burn the waste gas by the addition of air in the absence of any provisions for controlling the ignition of the mixture which, ui'iignited, might fill the boiler and then become suddenly ignited by an appropriate rise in temperature and cause a serious explosion with probable destruction of the boiler. My blue water gas apparatus includes a chamber 7, which avoids these dangers and permits the Waste gas to be burned with resulting economy. Inasmuch as my invention has to do, with apparatus for making uncarburetted water gas, it follows that oil or oil gas is excluded from the chamber 7, and in fact the entire apparatus is devoid of provisions for carburetting water gas.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifications may be made in details of construction and arrangement without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is not limited in that regard or 0therwise than as the appended claim and the prior state of the art may require.

What I claim is:

A self-steaming blue gas plant comprising the combination of a generator, a boiler, an igniter interposed between the boiler and generator, and air inlet connections at the inlet and outlet ends of the ignit-er.

JOHN M. RUSBY. 

